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Midoriya narrowed his eyes at the calendar hanging on the wall in front of him. If he had a quirk, he may have even succeeded in his attempt to burn holes through it. Reluctantly, he clicked the pen in his hand and crossed off the fifteenth day of the month, the ink obstructing the '16th Birthday!' that had been written too long ago to remember when.
Shifting the bag on his shoulder and slipping on his shoes, the teenager left his house and began the lengthy journey to UA.
It wasn't that he was unhappy about his birthday, it was merely that nothing seemed right since he failed the heroics exam, as if a part of him had turned to dust the very same moment his dreams had. Anyway, he had kept the importance of this date from his classmates, so the day should go like every other one.
Whilst walking, Midoriya pulled out his phone, scrolling mindlessly through the latest hero news. His thumb paused briefly, hovering over an article that mentioned that it was the anniversary of the day UA's principal had managed to escape from his previous life as a lab rat.
Midoriya felt his nose scrunch up at the use of the phrase 'Lab rat'. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The button on his phone made its usual click to signify it had been turned off. As he looked back up, his eyes caught on a nearby convenience store and a subtle smile formed on his face.
School was never fun for Midoriya. It never had been and it never would be.
He stared blankly at the water dripping from his designated desk and sighed. A haste glance at the time was all he needed before he made his way to the principal's office.
His fingers twitched anxiously in his pockets as he took step after step, pinching at the fabric of his trousers in a fruitless attempt to keep his mind thought free.
Midoriya arrived at his destination and took a deep breath before knocking.
There was a strange sound, as if a concerning amount of things were being shoved away, and the teenager swore he heard a surprised yelp followed by the sound of breaking glass.
The door finally opened to reveal Nezu standing on a child sized plastic chair in order to reach the handle. Midoriya blinked once, twice.
"Would you like any assistance moving that back, sir? N-not that I'm suggesting you can't do it on your own, of course." Midoriya wished that life came with pre-prepared speech options.
Nezu looked almost surprised, before a quiet purring sound began to emit from him, only briefly.
"It's completely up to you, Midoriya-Kun." He responded, voice soft.
Midoriya smiled shakily before gently picking up the chair and placing it in a spot where the dents in the carpet matched the seat's legs.
Whilst this was happening, Nezu had managed to scramble back into his desk chair, complete with wheels.
The principal interlaced his paws before addressing the teenager.
"May I ask why you're here?" He questioned, tactfully ignoring the shattered window on his right.
Midoriya reached behind him, pulling his backpack off of his shoulders.
"I-uhm, I heard that today was the anniversary of your escape? So I, uh, I thought that it might be your version of a birthday, so.." The general education student trailed off, pulling out two brown bags and carefully handing them to the hero.
Nezu, as if touching paper thin glass, cautiously reached inside, pulling from the first one three small bags of assorted berries and grain, and the other a bag of expensive fish. As he pulled the items out, several plastic wrapped parcels fell out, all labelled with tea flavours on them.
"I did some research before I bought them, but if I got anything wrong, please tell me. I-I'm also really sorry if this is overstepping your boundaries or anything, I should have checked beforehand."
Nezu didn't reply for a moment, ears turning to point forwards as the purring sound returned, stronger than before. He glanced, briefly, between the gift and the child, eyes wide with wonder.
"Would.." Nezu's voice cracked, "Would it be alright if I were to pat your head?"
Midoriya nodded, resisting the urge to lean into the touch as a soft paw gently tapped the top of his head.
As the teenager turned to leave, Nezu called out to him, "Wait, Midoriya-Kun, I need you to sign something, it's nothing important, though." The hero's ears twitched as he spoke, but Midoriya paid it no mind as he wrote his name on the base of several pieces of paper, barely bothering to read them.
Midoriya wondered why he heard the telltale sound of a tail wagging as he left the principal's office, but merely shrugged and returned to his classroom.
The first thing he noticed when he pushed the classroom door open was that his chair was dry. That and the fact that it wasn't his chair.
He glanced at Yamada and found his teacher offering him a sad smile, standing at the front of the class and noticeably seatless.
A small spark of warmth burst to life inside him as he slowly sat down.
General education classes passed as normal, however as Midoriya turned to leave for lunch, Yamada stopped him.
"Ah, Listener! Actually, the principal wanted to see you!"
Midoriya blinked slowly, his gaze catching on the nervousness of the hero's demeanour. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but nodded anyway.
The teenager wondered if he'd overstepped earlier, perhaps bothering the principal on an important day. Every step closer to the office felt as if he were walking through honey.
As the door he'd already opened earlier came into view, the teenager swallowed, inhaling deeply before knocking for a second time.
Nezu opened it almost immediately, gently wrapping a paw around the boy's wrist and leading him forwards, into the same small plastic seat from mere hours before.
Blinking in surprise, Midoriya had no time to react before a cone shaped hat was attached to his head.
A closer inspection of the hero in front of him revealed a similar one on his head too.
"I asked your teachers about your interests," Nezu explained as he slid a notebook across the table, barely able to resist kicking his hind legs at the wonder in Midoriya’s eyes.
The student gingerly picked up the book and turned it to the first page. Written in deep ochre ink was the signature of Eraserhead.
"When you gave me your fantastic gift, I did have to.. quickly remove Aizawa-Kun from my office, but he was more than happy to sign this for you."
Midoriya traced his fingers over the indent left by the kanji, careful not to smudge the ink.
"May I ask what you had me sign earlier?" He enquired, already with his suspensions.
"Ah, those were simply your adoption papers."
The student felt his breath catch in his throat. "What?"
"Honestly, it should be illegal for taking as long as it did for me to get my paws on them, but-"
Nezu was cut off by arms being wrapped around him. It wasn't painful, but the mammal found tears pooling in his eyes, and as the familiar wet fur sensation that had been brought to his attention on his shoulder, he figured his son was doing the same.
Midoriya pulled his dad closer, burrowing into the warmth of 'human' contact for the first time in years.
It was nice.